This Princess Doesn't Need Saving
by wessaclaceherondale
Summary: Young Will and Jem are appointed as Princess Tessa's personal guards. When they meet her, their beliefs about the princess are proven wrong.
1. Chapter 1: Have we met before?

**Disclaimer: The Infernal Devices characters belong to the one and only Cassie Clare! ^-^**

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"Hey, Will, what do you think this princess will be like?" the young silver-haired boy asked his best friend.

The raven-haired male answered, "Ugh, I really don't know, Jem. I bet she's just a snobby little royal. After all, they are all like that!"

From the shadows, out stepped a young girl who Jem and Will could only guess was around their age. She was dressed in a plain gray tunic with dark blue trousers. Her wavy brown hair was tugged into a simple bun. She addressed them, "Well, Jem," she looked at the pale boy, "and Will," she glanced at the tanned boy, "if you would like to further discuss this 'snobby' princess, you should make sure to not be heard by others. As they say, the walls have ears." She smirked lightly.

"What is a commoner like you doing in the palace?" Will asked.

Jem tried to cover for his arrogant friend and explained, "He meant to ask if you worked here or what business you could be doing in the palace! We are here to grow up as personal guards of the princess of Idris."

"I know," the girl answered. With that, she giggled and walked off down the hallway, taking the first left.

Still puzzled by the mysterious girl's behavior, Will and Jem continued down the palace's hallways, slowly approaching the throne room.

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Tessa's POV

"Tessa! You can't be serious!" my maid/best friend, Sophie Collins, exclaimed. "You're about to meet the personal guards who you will grow up with and who will protect you for the rest of your life! You can't wear that!" Sophie was referring to my training outfit, tunic and trousers.

I inwardly groaned, knowing I would eventually be stuffed into a suffocating dress. "But, Sophie–!"

"No 'but's, Tessa. I may just be your maid but you will listen to me! Now, follow me! We must find your outfit at once!"

In the end, I was unwillingly dragged into my huge walk-in closet and was forced to look through a multitude of frills and lace.

In the back of my mind, I smiled about the thought of having Will and Jem as my personal guards and, as I'd like to call them, best friends for the rest of my life. With that thought, I conceded to putting on the garments Sophie threw at me until I looked "presentable".

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Will's POV

Jem and I finally reached the doors of the throne room. We were told to wait inside. Apparently, the princess was still changing. I rolled my eyes. This fact seemed to support my idea that the princess was just a snobby, little royal.

I took in the princess's throne room. Yes, the princess had her own throne room! Jem and I were standing on a vibrant red carpet that led to a magnificent throne. It was a deep purple outlined in gold with velvet armrests. The rest of the huge ballroom-sized room was empty except for two rows of guards, one on each side of the room. The tile floor looked like it was polished every day and the walls were a faded blue with an intricate gold design that weaved its way throughout the entire room.

I turned to Jem and said, "Imagine living here for the rest of our life!"

"I know! It's simply amazing that we are allowed to be here!" he replied.

"I know how we got here. We are after all, the most talented at fighting," I boasted. That comment earned me a whack on the head from my silver-haired friend.

"Don't be such a braggart!"

At that moment, a young, brown-haired girl about our age, dressed in a white blouse under an apron-like, green dress, stepped out from behind the throne, presumably where a servant's passageway stood. She could be considered pretty, if not for the long scar going down the right side of her face. Her hazel eyes were calculating as she took a step closer to them. She finally stopped to the left of the throne and stated, "Welcome, William Herondale and James Carstairs. Princess Theresa will be here soo–"

"Hey, Sophie! Why did you introduce me as Theresa!" a voice came from behind the throne. Out stepped a familiar brown-haired girl with blue-gray eyes. She was dressed in a beautiful gray gown and her wavy hair was adorned with delicate braids and put in a bun. A bright gold tiara, with a deep blue jewel in the center, was worn amongst her brown locks. Her face held a look of friendly annoyance and she went up to the slightly older girl and stood by her side. She then, looked at Jem and I and said with a smile, "Call me Tessa, please."

Jem instantly kneeled and bowed his head whilst asking, "Princess Tessa, have we met before?"

I turned to him and said, "Of course, we have! She's the girl we saw while on our way here!"

"Hey, Jem! You don't need to bow. I'm only a princess. It's not like I'm the king!" Tessa exclaimed. At that, Jem slowly stood up with a smile that I, as his best friend, could read as "This is going to be interesting".

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 **So, do you like it! R &R, please!**

 **-WCH**


	2. Chapter 2: Cecy? Cecy? What's Wrong?

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Cassie Clare!**

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Will and Jem were lying down on the bunkbed in their room, which was right next to the princess's quarters. Will was on the top and Jem was on the bottom. They had just been dragged by Tessa around the palace, visiting the library, the dining room, the courtyard, and even the ballroom. When the tour finally ended the cheerful princess informed the two that her tenth birthday was that night and that they would need to attend a ballroom dance. So, leaving the two boys off to their devices, the princess went off to training, after all, she needed to learn how to defend herself, too!

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 _Tessa's POV_

I was sparring with one of my best friends, Cecily. As I parried her attacks and she parried mine, we conversed about the day's story. She giggled as she informed me Gabriel had asked to dance with her at tonight's ball. Even though she never told me, we both knew she had a crush on the boy. I, then, told her about Will and Jem.

"Jem was really sweet and he seems like a nice person. Will, on the other hand, is really reckless!" I explained. "Cecy, what really interests me is that Will has the same last name as you, too!"

All of a sudden, my friend dropped her sword and I had to jump to the side to not skewer her with mine.

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 _Cecily's POV_

"Cecy? Cecy? What's wrong?" Tessa asked me. She looked at me worriedly and I would have felt bad if I were not being swallowed by the horrible memories of my past...

 _[Memory]_

 _"Mam! Mam!" I screamed. My older sister Ella was running right behind me. "Will is gone! He's gone! I checked everywhere! We even called out his name!" We had been playing hide and seek. Ella had already found me but, even together, we couldn't find Will._

 _"It's fine, Cecy," Mam soothed. "Gwilym probably fell asleep in the library again."  
_

 _Except Mam, for the first time in my life, was wrong. We found out the next day that Will had run away to joing the royal guard in training. We never knew the reason. That wasn't even the end. The next day, Ella disappeared, too, probably to search for him._

 _This happened when I was six. So, I ran away at age seven to find my brother and sister. Somehow, Tessa found me and took me in to the castle..._

"Cecily Herondale! Are you in there?" Tessa frantically yelled. She finally shook me from y daze and when I looked around, the world was blurry. I had been crying. Cecily Herondale _crying_! If Gabriel found out, I would never hear the end of it!

"Sorry, Tess. I don't feel well. I'll go rest in my chambers," I reply softly, trying to force a smile on my lips. "See you tonight."

With that, I turned my back towards the puzzled princess and strolled as light-heartedly as possible away.

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 _Tessa's POV_

Although I was worried about my friend, I knew that, at times like these, she liked to be left alone so I didn't go to find her. Instead, I continued practicing my sword techniques on a wooden post in the training grounds.

"Uncle, how long do you plan on standing there?" I asked without turning around to look at my uncle, King Mortmain. At least, he told me to call him "Uncle". My parents mysteriously died the day after I was born so I don't really remember them. Uncle was my dad's Royal Advisor and he took over the throne. I'm supposed to get it back when I "come of age", or turn seventeen.

"I was wondering when you would notice me!" he said, laughing a hollow laugh. "Happy Birthday, _P_ _rincess_. I _wonder_ why your lovely servant Cecily ran away." He smirked the smirk Tessa hated the most.

"What do you know!?" Tessa exclaimed. "Also, Cecily isn't a servant! She's my friend!"

"Oh, Tessa," he admonished. "When will you _ever_ grow up? You're a princess. She's a country girl! You two can't be friends!"

Tessa gripped the hilt of her sword, doing everything she could to not decapitate the infuriating king.

"You might want to rethink attacking me. After all, I'm about to tell you what I know you're _dying_ to know about your...'friend'." her uncle said.

"If Cecily wanted me to know, she would have told me! I will not go against my friend's wishes!" Tessa said, urging her inner self for self-control.

"Really, now? We both know that's a lie. Inside, you're just _dying_ to find out."

"No, I'm not." With that, I go back to sword practice, ignoring my uncle.

"Well, I'll just tell you. Listen, if you want," he said after a moment of silence...

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I couldn't _believe_ it! Although I tried not to think about my uncle's words, it wasn't working. Cecily was actually Will's sister! I wondered if Will knew! I had to tell him immediately! So, I found my feet dragging me towards his and Jem's room. When I arrived, I furiously knocked on the door. When I got no answer, I swung the door open to find Jem taking a nap on his bunk and Will above him, reading.

"Hey, Will!" I said, getting distracted. "What are you reading?" I was excited to find out something new about my guard. "I _love_ reading!"

He mumbled, "Pride and Prejudice."

I gasped and exclaimed, "I love that one! Actually, I love all classics. My favorite is the Tale of Two Cities! It's just _so_ lovely how he died for her and he proved his everlasting love and loyalty!" I was about to continue when I remembered why I came to him in the first place.

Will noticed me stop my ranting mid-way and looked up from the book. "Is something wrong?" he asked, puzzled at my change in attitude.

I simply eyed him carefully, afraid of his reaction. I quietly responded, "I think we should go somewhere private to talk about this." I indicated the snoozing Jem.

"It should be fine. Jem is a deep sleeper. Whatever you want to tell me, this is the most private place to say it."

I started pacing the room. Finally I started, "IknowaboutCecily."

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 **So, like it? hate it? Tell me in the reviews! See you next chappie! ;)**

 **-WCH**


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